AN easing of restrictions on outdoor meetings could be announced by the First Minister when she updates Holyrood on Scotland's fight against Covid-19.

Nicola Sturgeon will give a statement to MSPs in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon as progress on the vaccine programme has been progressing well.

She has already indicated a change in the rules on outdoor meetings – which at the moment only allow for two people from two different households to get together – could be coming.

On Friday, Sturgeon indicated “good progress” with the vaccination programme and the falling number of infections could mean that “greater normality is firmly on the horizon”.

She said then she was “hopeful” the Scottish Government may be able to make some “relatively minor, but I think important, changes in our ability to meet outdoors and also how young people are able to interact with their friends outdoors”.

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Deputy First Minister John Swinney confirmed yesterday any changes to the current lockdown regime would be set out by Sturgeon.

He added: “The First Minister has been clear that we will try to relax lockdown as quickly as we possibly can do, but we have to do it in a sustainable manner.

“That means taking the appropriate steps in the appropriate sequence to make sure we don’t run the risk of the virus running away from us again.”

The easing of lockdown restrictions began in February when children in the first three years of primary, as well as nursery youngsters, were able to return to the classroom.

Older primary children are expected to return to school full time from next Monday, March 15 – with secondary school pupils also to get some time back in the classroom from this date, before returning full-time after the Easter holiday.

Live coverage of the update will be shown on the BBC Scotland channel from 2.15pm this afternoon.